Another bracelet & cabling

Ok so I've been eyeing up lots of cabling patterns of late and i was a little daunted about trying one out. So I've found me a simple cable pattern that i am currently trying out for a bracelet cover (as done before)

So this really easy pattern is only 4 rows of pattern repeated and its only over 8 stitches!  Told you it was a simple one!

As normal i dont like to make things easy for myself so my first wool choice was a bamboo and cotton purple wool. However when i tried to start this pattern with this yarn i kept getting caught up in the threads and making a general mess so i changed my yarn! Now im using a totally fab Sirdar Eco Wool dk 100% undyed virgin wool.

Ok so cast on 8 stitches!

Now to start the pattern: So Row 1 (wrong side) K2, P4, K2
So far not scary!

Row 2:  P2, K4, P2
Row 3: K2, P4, K2

Now row 4! P2 then slip the next 2 stitches onto a cable needle and hold them at the back of your knitting like this:

Now K2 from your left needle, then heres the fiddly bit K2 off the cable needle. You could chose to either knit them straight off your cable needle or you could slip them back onto your left needle and then knit them! Then P2 to finish. You need to be extra careful when taking the stitches off the first few times i did this i pulled my stitches off of my right needle and then my left! Clumsy i know You could easily use something to stop them sliding off tho ie a peg etc :D

The main thing i had to watch for/remember was that once i had my stitches on the cable needle ensure the yarn is AT THE BACK of your knitting as you are knitting the next 4 stitches! Otherwise youll end up with extra stitches etc :)

Thats it! Yup just repeat these 4 rows of pattern and this is what happens:

Now repeat the 4 rows and it will start to look like this:

Now im knitting this to fit round a plastic bracelet and i have a brooch i may or may not attach, we will see at the end!

Once i have this at the required length i will then set about stitching it around the bracelet (as in my earlier posts)

I then take the plastic bracelet and wrap the swatch of knitting around it and using the threads from the ends i start stitching it around it.

Stitch it all the way round , i started with the right sie and stitched it as far as my yarn allowed me, unfortunatley i didnt leave enough yarn on one end so i had to stitch in form the other side til the whole thing was sawn down one side like this:

 I then used a spare piece of yarn stitch the end pieces together:

Then simply cut off the loose ends and straighten up the pattern!!

Here is the finished product!!:

Im loving this bracelet and I will have to get some more wool of this kind! I will also be trying this again in a different type to see how it alters the end result.

**Please note this pattern Is for 8 stitches and for the yarn i used this just "just" fitted around the bracelet I had chosen to cover. You are best to measure around your bracelet to check the size of the swatch you will need to create and test your wool to see how far it stretches. If you need a longer pattern I found a wealth of them available at http://www.knittingfool.com/pages/StitchCountList.guest.cfm

This search option allows to search by stitch size and is utterly wonderful for finding just the right pattern for your project :D **